The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1887-05-26

DVohoihy vi tie Wealthy VINO to-day
are practising, as rule unwonted
self-denial and not spending accord
ing to their means and as the eter-
nal fitness Of things intended they
should.
Z. The wanLon extravaganza Of the
laboring clsss itself.
These two conclusions explain the
situation-the poor man spends too
much, the rich man too little. He
of the millions guards them as he
should his soul and lives as econom-
ically as ought the mechanic who
lavishes his weeks wages like lord
and cries hard times = Is not this
enough to account for the state Of
things! Unless we can change our
methods we must still remain the
merchants slave.
We may not be able to force the
monied man to spend money when
he doesn't want to, but we can GER
talnly restrain ourselves from spend
ing when we ought not.
Now the farmers may not be so
liable to the charge Of wastefulness
and extravaganza, so far as actual
money is concerned, as is the me-
chanic, Tor the farmer generally han
dies few dollars in the course of the
year but he certainly is liable to
the charge OF criminal carelessness,
waste and daily want of economy in
his every method and system.
What need is there for me to at,
tempt to point out, even had | the
space and time, the thousand and
one ways in which this is apparent?
1t is visible in every act Of his daily
life-it confronts us prominently in
his want of method, system and reg
ularity-in his crude and imperfect
yes, cOnteRtedly crude and imperfect
conception of his business from seed
ing time to harvest. Were any me-
chanic half so ignorant of his trade
as is the farmer OF his, he could not
earn his salt
To what, then, does all this tend !?
Why, to the conclusion that as
want of economy and intelligent
method is the prevailing defect with
us all, as the defect is only one of the
two factors in the way of a return to
higher prices and easier times, and
the only one it is within the power
Of the farmer 70 overcome. it should
be our steady and inAexible purpose
to devote our organization to this
end.
Once convince the former that he
can be practically taught how to
make money by being taught how to
save it and you have solved the prob
lem OF successful organization, and
our society will receive an impetus
the momentum OF which can scarcely
be computed.
BY what means shall we do this:
Many methods suggest themselves;
let us select tie simplest.
The economies of farming consist
in knowing absolutely and with ex-
lctness and precision
!. What to plant
9. When and how to plant.
3. When and how to cultivate.
4. Where and how to market. And
now to do this in the least expensive |
| would therefore suggest that |
complete list be made of every crop
we grow in this county, commencing
with cotton and including corn, grain, |
grasses, fruits, potatoes, turnips and
other vegetables, melons, including |
and so on to the end.
That each one Of these crops be
given for practical investigation and |
experiment to some Trustworthy
of our body who will volun- |
tarily undertake the work, not for
this year only, but as a permanency. |
Let him proceed to investigate az
well as he can, from to-day, into eve
ry feature connected with it, obtain
ing all information possible from any
source, barring it upon his own knowi-
edge and experience and upon the
reports Of others, and keeping a care
full record in book form of every de-
tail
Let him at the last quarterly meet
ing in the old year read a detailed
report upon the varieties OF his
special crop best suited and adapted
to this county and the varieties best
suited for special soils and exposures
as well as his limited experience al
that time VIII enable him. This will
tell us what to plant.
Let him'at the first quarterly meet
ing in the new year tell us when and
how to plant and with what and in
what quantity to fertilize.
Let him tell us at the second quar-
terly meeting when and how to cuI.
tiyate-what implements are the best
suited to the crop and the different
character Of land in which.t is plant
ed.
Let him tell us, finally, where we
obtain the most advantageous sale for
its product and how to properly pre-
pare it for market.
Let this same system be applied to
all varieties Of live stock, poultry,
bees, and other incidental industries
Of the farm.
Of course the information at first
will be meagre compared to that
which study and investigation will in
a year or two develop. BY this sys.
tenn no scattering" is possible. Each
man is confined to speciality and he
can bring to his assistance as much
extra aid as he can command. Att
first the labor may be somewhat irk-
some. 1t will always entail consid-
cradle WORK. But, my word for it,
the spirit Of investigation will soon
close in on every worker and he will
become 50 completely wrapped up
and enthused in his study that it will
be delight rather than burden.
Our meetings will no longer be
wasted in desultory discussion, burt